


Divided We Fall

by Shurikenofdoom



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Captivity, Different Aquamarine To The Show, F/F, Fusion, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Isolation, Minor Violence, Moral Dilemmas, Separation Anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 03:06:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13538364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shurikenofdoom/pseuds/Shurikenofdoom
Summary: An attack on the crystal temple leaves Steven without the crystal gems, and Ruby without Sapphire. With each other, they must work together to get their friends back, but how can Ruby cope when she's no longer complete?(This is cancelled now since I feel this is holding me back. Sorry to anyone that cared about this.)





	1. The Division

“Seize her.”

 

With that one order, the door to the crystal temple splintered to pieces, revealing the figure of a bulky jasper and her fist stationary in the doorway. A blood moon shone into the abode, lighting up her figure as she squeezed her way into the tiny, creaking structure, soon being followed by four more jaspers. They took positions around the once cosy home as five rubies dashed in at supersonic speed, all brandishing their varied weapons. Each one of the soldiers wore looks of pure confidence, for they knew what was coming, and they knew they were prepared. They would not let their commander down.

 

The sound of the door being obliterated instantly woke up the human-gem hybrid known as Steven, who screamed as loud as he could into the darkness while attempting to use his powers against the intruders. His cries were soon answered, and as the invaders had hoped, the temple doors opened up to reveal the other crystal gems. They all appeared startled and confused, with the exception of the permanent fusion, Garnet. She felt ready.

 

“Pearl, take out the jaspers guarding the exit. We need to get out of here right now!” she ordered. Pearl took her weapon out in an instant and got to work, trying her best to dodge every punch the two jasper guards threw at her. She ducked and weaved, fighting at her strongest once she snapped from her initial confusion, though each thrust from her spear barely seemed to scratch the stocky gems. The distraction was in place, and the other three jaspers were closing in to take out their easiest target: Steven. After being forcefully woken up in the middle of the night, his mind wasn't clear. He stumbled and almost passed out from exertion as he tried his hardest to summon anything more useful that the tiny bursts of energy he was producing. A gargantuan fist came down and crashed into the floorboards, missing Steven by inches.

 

While that was happening, Amethyst tried to clean up the rubies with her whip. They didn't look like much of a threat unfused, but the moment she got their attention, she suddenly found herself swarmed from underestimating their power. A pair of gauntlets smashed her square in the face with enough force to send her flying across the room, whip trailing uselessly behind her. The rubies smiled in satisfaction before running after Amethyst as she crashed into the end of the kitchen, almost going through the wall. Just as this happened, another fist tried to put an end to Steven, but he was just barely reflexive enough to avoid their punches. Though the whole fight was pure chaos, Garnet could observe everything with clarity, and knew for certain that Steven wouldn't last much longer without her. She rushed into the terrorising trio with lightning speed.

 

“You leave him alone right now!” Garnet said as she knocked one of the jaspers straight onto their back. The other two didn't react, however, and only continued to focus on removing the 'weak link' of the team. Steven ran towards one of them, determination in his eyes, but he didn't stand a chance. A rock hard fist struck him in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him out in an instant. Garnet was too slow to stop this as the other jasper engaged her, pushing her back away from any chance of saving Steven. He was picked up by the neck, his face bloodied and bruised just from the single punch he took, and then thrown out of the building and onto the beach like stray pebble.

 

Pearl was holding her own against the jasper guards, almost finding a chance to take them out, but the moment she saw Steven come to harm, her concentration lapsed and a simple kick in the sides was almost enough to poof her right then and there. Amethyst was currently dog-piled under all five rubies, writhing and screaming from their combined brute force. Both gems were more or less out of action at this point along with Steven, leaving only Garnet fit to fight off all ten gems. She stared on at the losing battle, looking unusually shocked and surprised that their resistance could be defeated so quickly and seemingly effortlessly. She hadn't foreseen their force being so ruthless, but she still had the upper hand. This was her time to shine as the fusion.

 

Without a single word, she slammed her gauntlet straight into the jaspers guarding the doorway, blasting them out onto the beach below. The other jaspers were quick to try and overpower her, but their reflexes were too slow, only getting a couple of hits in before they too were bruised up and left lying on the floor. It seemed like the danger was over, but she could have sworn she was missing something. As she looked around, the only two people left standing were her and Peridot cowering away in the bathroom. Then she took a moment to look up into the foggy night sky, and vaguely made out something that shocked her to her gemstones.

 

“Impressive, but I've seen better,” it said. With the voice, it was clear who she was now. Garnet had not seen this coming at all. Floating up in the sky, she could make her out as an aquamarine, her gem located in the middle of her chest. She seemed surprisingly uncaring that her force had just been double-handedly taken out, but then she dropped the bomb on Garnet. “You certainly need to improve your perception,” she said, as the five rubies swarmed her all at once from behind. Garnet was pinned to the floor in her surprise, and struggled to get herself back up. What was wrong with her?

 

“It's time we made this disgusting form pure again,” she continued. “Remember, only take the valuable one,” she ordered to her rubies, spacing the words out slowly and clearly so they would understand. One of the less damaged jaspers stood up again, taking out a gem destabiliser, her intent clear as she silently strode towards the immobile Garnet. The destabiliser was bent up and barely functional, but the jasper seemed to not care in the slightest. She jammed it forcefully into Garnet's chest. She screamed as the excruciating pain coursed through her, feeling unable to do anything else. Pearl and Amethyst tried to stop them, but the other jaspers were soon back up on their feet and fighting again, blocking both of them away from saving their friend. Garnet was pinned down just outside the house by five of her own kind, feeling her form break apart. Amethyst shouted and screamed and fought with everything she could, but it wasn't enough. Garnet was dead, and the two gems that made her burst out onto the floor, weakened and almost unconscious from the attack, though by some miracle they kept their form due to the semi-defective destabiliser. It would all be for nothing, however.

 

“Our work here is done. Retreat back to base,” Aquamarine said, using her commanding tone well as all ten of her soldiers immediately stopped engaging their enemy and stormed out of the ruined house. Ruby could barely lift her head to see what was going on, but when she did, she immediately felt sick at the sight. One of the rubies pulled out a chisel knife and shoved it into Sapphire's face. She visibly gasped and struggled a little as she tried to hold herself together, but the attack was too much, and she disappeared back into her own gem. Ruby, through all her despair, just barely stood to her shaking feet and chased after the brigade of what she could only assume were Homeworld gems. They ignored her and carried Sapphire's gem away with them.

 

Amethyst and Pearl tried to chase after them too, but Aquamarine saw it coming. In a swift motion, she put the entire crystal temple in a forcefield with her wand, immobilising any backup Ruby had. She carelessly put her wand away as it kept transmitting the forcefield perpetually, then she carefully took possession of Sapphire's gem as one of her rubies handed it right to her. Nothing could be done. The group of gems left as quickly as they came, cramming themselves into Aquamarine's ship taking off. Ruby mindlessly threw herself onto the beach and ran in vain in an attempt to catch up with the fleeing ship, but it was useless. She kneeled into the sand, screaming and crying in distress as her other half was carried out of her sight.

 

“Sapphire!”

 


	2. An Early Awakening

A nearby star hung above the world, raining delicate beams across the land. She called them cosmic tears. They gave life to the flowers of the fields, the trees of the hills, and the people of the villages. Those peculiar humans seemed to worship the star and treat it like their creator, and true as that was, it didn't have any will or sentience. The reality of star matter was all too simple to the evolved mind, but there was no denying that the vision of humankind had an adorable charm to it. The other life of the planet had no need to acknowledge the sun, but it was still dependent in its survival. A mental note was made: The sun is important.

 

The moon peeked over the horizon, a clear crescent cutting into the sky to join the world in daytime. She called it earth's night-light. There was no arguing with this statement, though as clearly shown here, it could also sometimes be seen while the sun was still out. At times when the Earth stopped facing the sun, however, this moon would be the new sun. People worshipped it for its ever changing shape and bright light in Earth's darkest hours. It may be physically unremarkable in many aspects, but she couldn't deny the beauty and majesty it held. After all, that's how she saw it.

 

The sky was laid out, exposed in blue and hiding most of the stars above. She called it the planetary shield, for it protected the humans from the deadly radiation of the sun, and trapped in just the right amount of warmth to survive. Without this shield, there would be no life, and there would be no real earth. Just another desolate rock with no potential, just as Homeworld saw it. But perhaps Homeworld never looked closely enough to realise what this planet had, the unique attributes it held. A sun, moon, and atmosphere were only the beginning. With two guardian lights and a tender shield, this planet had the chance to grow and become something special, and every moment she reminded her of that.

 

She wasn't there.

 

It was Sapphire's first awakening to notice this. There it was laid out right in front of her, their routine dream, the early days of life on earth. It was a story they always told together when they had to cease being conscious, only she was telling both parts to herself this time. Earth didn't feel so beautiful when all she had to experience it was a memory of words spoken from what felt like a million years ago. If her precious Ruby wasn't there, it could only mean one thing... The realisation of what happened made her instantly stop breathing. Her body refused to obey her, instead shaking in place as the hill's surrounding grass was overthrown with a coat of ice.

 

She needed a reason, some explanation for how this happened, but the memories were so hazy. There was only enough information to know that Ruby had somehow ended up far, far away from her, and could have been left in any condition... She needed to wake up, but it wasn't happening. In the endless fields she simply stood there in her ice as droplets cascaded down from her face. Where was her strength and comfort? She tried to see a future of them together again, but it was failing her. All her powers were out of her control, leaving her standing there, frozen in place, weeping as she waited for her dream to feel whole again. She even summoned a vision of her for a brief second, before the truth dissolved it to remind her it wasn't real. None of this was, yet she couldn't bring herself to leave their world.

 

“She will recover soon.”

 

What was that? She jolted her head around rapidly, the words ringing within her as she tried to find their source. It was only once her dream had been shattered into a nightmare that she became painfully aware of these faint sounds around her. There was some kind of mechanical whirring, like a machine at a hospital, and this sporadic clicking. They were getting closer. Running was impossible the moment she became a statue, so the sounds turned to the helpless gem to prey on her, tormenting her until she had no choice but to give in. It was surrounding her, wrapping her in a suffocating tie of terror. This noise was something she had never heard before, but whatever it was, it operated at a frequency designed to make her suffer. There must have been a reason for this.

 

Before she knew it, she was transcending the sound and the pain, and even the dream itself. Time was flowing at an increasingly fast rate, day and night spinning the world around to a dizzying degree. Thousands of years must have been passing in the span of a minute, and at the same time Sapphire felt strong, at least in her body. Her mind was shutting down from the process, the stimulation, and the unavoidable fact that she was completely alone, but she could feel the strength to leave forced within her. It was all a matter of time, and when the telltale signs of modern civilisation arose in the place of nature, she knew it was up. Maybe Ruby would be there to comfort her when she woke again...

 

“Ahh, here we go! Welcome back, my clarity.”

 

The room was tiny and to the point, as restraining cubicles were expected to be. A single table with nearly unbreakable straps and the ability to change size for most gems, a single light dimly dangling above, perfectly polished walls of white with a single high-access-only door, and a camera linked to an external video feed for monitoring purposes. Aquamarine floated just above the table with a natural hover of her butterfly-like wings keeping her in the air with grace. She was holding a strange blocky cylindrical device in her hand that was almost bigger than she was, but it may as well have been a feather with the ease at which she held it. Her face had just lit up in excitement at the sight in front of her: A glowing sapphire gem.

 

Violent flashes of white immediately overpowered the pathetic light above, sending the room into a frenzied light show. Something resembling a limb grew out onto the table below, writhing around like a worm. A few more of these sprouted, before forming back into an amorphous white blob that slowly tried to shrink in size. The typical sound of reformation was instead drawn out to a painful degree, screaming endlessly into the shared cell. Aquamarine smiled, as she knew it would only be a matter of time at this point. White grew back again, creating a distinct hand around the gem before growing even further and forming a vague shape of the rest of the body. With almost a loud bang, the body came to life and colour, and the straps around the table instantly activated to keep it in place. Sapphire had returned.

 

Aquamarine had always known there would be some level of distress from using the Sound Wave Restoration Device, but her smile couldn't help but fade as the table froze up almost instantly upon the special gem's return. In fact, the whole room was starting to succumb to a layer of frost, to the point that even Aquamarine's wings were crystallising from the chill. The whole time, Sapphire stayed completely still as she watched on, only breathing heavily and keeping her eye wide open. This would not do.

 

“Can you speak?” She asked, and the evidence was clear. Sapphire kept her mouth sealed shut, appearing to have not heard the question at all. Her mind must have been fixated on other thoughts, whatever they were, and any reasoning would be futile. Aquamarine had to think fast, or else she would soon be grounded by a burden of immobile ice attached to her body. Then the light in the room burst from the intense cold, and her mind was made up.

 

“I require immediate assistance! She needs to be sedated!” She yelled in panic, having never expected the effect of separation to be this intense on the sapphire. At once, two amethysts burst through the door, looking almost equally as panicked. They removed the restraints and harnesses of the table before hauling Sapphire out of the room, who was weighing a surprising amount from the added ice. The amethysts took care to be quick, as their hands were soon falling victim to the same frost that took over the room earlier. A quick glance into the frozen face fixated in horror made them slow down a little, but they soon sped up again, knowing they had a job to do.

 

Sapphire was hoisted over their shoulders through a dark, lengthy grey corridor. More dim lights flashed past at regular intervals, with the occasional door popping up either side to them. There was also a series of what appeared to be prison cells, but they went by in less than a blur, leaving them a mystery. Aquamarine gradually regained her composure as the room heated up again, and when she was confident her wings could actually fly again, she gave chase to the rapidly moving trio. They all abruptly stopped in front of a door with a sign simply reading “Thermal” on the front. This was another high-access location that only Aquamarine could open, so that was exactly what she did, groaning to herself when the amethysts stumbled in so haphazardly that they accidentally threw Sapphire onto her back in the middle of the room. At least that was where she wanted her.

 

As the door was sealed shut, the turn of a dial on the wall brought forth a radiating miasma of heat within the room, much like a sauna. Aquamarine sighed a little in relief as her wings were fully thawed out again. Blood red coated the floor to indicate where the heat was acting itself out, though there was something that felt familiar with its energy. The amethysts were quick to take the controls and isolate the heat to only barely cover Sapphire, feeling like they would be set ablaze soon. A battle of the elements took place in front of the small audience, the room visibly fighting back the wave of ice that attempted to consume it. Hundreds of degrees were falling futile, failing to subdue the sorrowful wrath that Sapphire was unleashing throughout. They needed more heat.

 

“Turn it all the way.”

 

The amethysts quickly nodded and moved the dial as far as it could go. Thousands of degrees now blasted onto the icy gem, almost making the floor itself appear to melt in a blistering boil. This was finally enough to force the ice into receding back to its source, who was starting regain her senses once more. Although it was multitudes warmer for her now, as evidenced by the rising steam permeating within the chamber, she was shivering in place and almost curling into a ball. Aquamarine made the assumption that the heat was her cold, and took the liberty to turn the room back to its regular temperature. It was safe to conclude that her episode had ended.

 

Silence...

 

She shot straight for the door, becoming a blur in front of their very eyes. One amethyst fell over as she almost ran straight through, and the other gripped into thin air to try and catch her. A slam of her hand on the gem scanner later left an opening for escape where the door was. It may have been high-access either side, but it was set to include anyone ranked above an Aquamarine as well, much to Sapphire's luck.

 

“Use your wands, you idiots! I gave them to you for a reason!”

 

They hastily reached inside their gems and grasped at their wands, pointing them at the escaping gem and zapping a few times before successfully encasing her in a strange glowing bubble. She was frozen in time just inches from rounding the corner and disappearing out of their sight, a look of pure determination petrified on her face.

 

“Please don't leave so soon, my clarity. There's a reason you're here...”

 

She ordered an amethyst to pull her away from any chance of freedom, and any hope of seeing earth's beauty again, instead floating her closer back to the clinical white chambers and doors... and her smirking face. An amethyst mouthed what appeared to be “I'm sorry” to their latest captive prisoner, then the two royal gems came face to face once more. Aquamarine tapped the sphere of energy that encased her most precious gem in the building, laughing a little in satisfaction.

 

“You work for us now!”

 

Then, dragged along like a balloon, Sapphire was whisked across the maze-like corridors. It was a bit harsh, Aquamarine thought, but sometimes desperate measures had to be taken to ensure the safety of such an important gem. They came to another door, this one being all-access, saving her the trouble of opening it herself. It was a much larger room this time, structured similarly to a courthouse with an elevated area at the front and several rows of seats for an audience. Sapphire was placed on a large chair overlooking a quickly forming crowd at the front, then all focus was on her.

 

She kept her eye closed tight to eliminate this new world. She tried to freeze out of reality again and maybe find her tender touch once more in the darkness. It wasn't working. Why wasn't it working?

She opened her eye for a single second. There she was, exposed and alone among these strangers. She counted five jaspers that stood still like statues, five rubies that weren't hers, two amethysts that weakly smiled at her, an aquamarine paying all too much attention to her, and a silent, almost invisible pearl standing in the corner. There were words being spoken to her about something, so she nodded as if she understood.

 

“..and you have no need to worry about punishment. We'll treat you like the royalty you are once this is over,” the aquamarine said. There was still that same fuzz to her perception as when she was dreaming, only this time she was awake to feel its full pain. She could feel that she wasn't properly reformed, and the sensation tore at her, causing her to clench in her chair. Contrary to the rest of the facility, this room's lighting was close to blinding her once faithful vision. Through a squint, she noticed a recording device being pulled out of the pearl, about half the size of a ruby and more technologically advanced than anything she had seen. Aquamarine held it with ease.

 

“If only I had brought a peridot with me...” Aquamarine sighed and then began recording Sapphire in her chair. She could see two screens to the side of this video camera device as it was set to float in front of her face. At that moment, she felt more like one of those news broadcasters on earth than a captured crystal gem. She assumed to the best of her ability that she was being let off easy by Homeworld for her actions in the war, but this treatment was strange, to say the least. Still, her mind couldn't leave the images of the fight she just came out of, or that horrifying room she had just been in. She couldn't focus on anything, not even the future. Every time she checked, her mind said the same thing.

 

Ruby could be dead. She hadn't been mentioned yet, and she'd know if she was, so there was no way of knowing otherwise. And what about the others? Pearl, Amethyst, Steven, Peridot: Everyone she ever loved gone forever in one night. She didn't want to think about it, but she didn't want to focus on her current situation either. There was no escape, no freezing out of it. She had to suffer.

 

“This is Aquamarine Facet-3F8L Cut-4KF reporting to the Diamond Authority. The Sapphire has been secured and the Crystal Gems... neutralised. She will arrive to you shortly after interrogation, at which point-” The words became numb before fading away to her. It was almost impossible to focus now, being torn between searing pain, mysterious Homeworld intentions, and inner misery to what became of her and her friends. They were the crystal gems, and they would never be beaten so easily even with so many odds stacked against them. Yet here she was, waking proof of the act they succeeded in committing.

 

The same question was hammering in her head, only acting as further proof of her destroyed mental state. They brought her back when she wasn't ready and they knew it, yet they don't care at all. Anger. But it faded instantly from the fear of uncertainty again, then the question came back. Looking into the future for guidance was useless, her mind too torn between reality and dreams to focus on anything even slightly meaningful. Holding back sobs, she tried one last time to calm herself down at least a little bit, and imagined Ruby holding her in her arms, talking about earth in the usually silly way she did. It worked... for about 5 seconds, then it shattered to pieces, only leaving the question again.

 

The recording seemed to be directed towards her again, so she lifted her head to pay attention. It was all she could do.

 

“Before we begin, is there anything you would like to say?” Aquamarine asked, almost beaming at her. There was only one response in her desolate mind at the moment, and it needed to make itself known. Through heavy breathing and an almost wheezing voice, she asked the question.

 

“How did we fall apart?”

 


	3. The Next Best Thing

“How did we fall apart?”

Those were the words that stirred Steven from a deep slumber. Groggily, he tried to rise to his feet, only to land straight onto his back again. Within seconds he noticed he wasn't lying in his bed; he was lying on a bed of rough sand. Then the excruciating pain hit him as he touched his face, swollen and lumpy with bruises. Finally, he remembered what happened last night... and started running across the beach, screaming.

It should have just been a nightmare, it shouldn't have been possible. Footprints were stamped into the sand periodically as the house started shrinking into the distance. His eyes were wide in terror as he frantically dashed around looking for answers. He didn't get far before he slammed straight into Ruby, who was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to even notice him until that moment.

“You're awake...” She spoke as she turned around to face Steven. Her eyes were bloodshot, making her face almost look worse than his. Before he knew it, her arms were wrapped around him in a tightening squeeze, only further dizzying his senses as he stumbled to stay on his feet. She wouldn't move or speak, staying still as a statue, which was unlucky for Steven since she was heating up fast.

Before he could be burned, he forced himself out of the hug and tumbled onto the sand. He leaned up on his hands to give her a look that could only say “I'm sorry”, but the worry on her face didn't fade. The sun was hanging right over them, blasting down heat through the clear sky. The whole ground felt unusually hot, and the smell of smoke permeated the air.

“Ruby... w-what happened?” Steven struggled to speak, feeling close to passing out again. He decided to fix this by licking his hand and slapping it onto his face, soon healing him back to his usual self, at least on the outside. While this happened, Ruby struggled to formulate even a simple sentence to describe the situation, instead yelling out what seemed to be gibberish. He could already guess what happened, considering she was by herself, but he didn't even want to think it was true.

“Aquamarine. She took Sapphire and trapped the others. We're the only ones l-left...” She proceeded to cry, very loudly, curling up into a ball as she did so. The heat radiating out of her could be felt all the way where Steven was. He was close to joining her himself, the tears welling in his eyes ready to come out, but he knew if neither of them tried to stay strong, all hope would be lost.

“Please, Ruby,” he crawled closer to her, making sure not to get himself burnt. She looked up at him, her face steaming with evaporated tears. He continued in almost a whisper, “We can get through this, I know it. We still have each other.” He weakly smiled at her, still feeling like he had just been beaten to a pulp despite his healing. She smiled back for a brief moment, before quickly returning to staring at the sand, her new home.

“Just leave me alone for now,” she said with a muffled, almost silent whisper. She took no other actions to signify any involvement in what was going on, choosing instead to keep her empty, unblinking gaze up. Steven didn't need to be told twice and walked away from her towards what once was his house. It looked like he'd have to find out what happened on his own.

As soon as he looked at the house, he gasped. Of course he expected it to be in pretty bad shape, and it was. Windows were broken, weak wooden walls were smashed to pieces, and the door was completely gone, but that paled in comparison to what he saw. Surrounding the whole structure and then some was this massive coating of blue, glowing energy. He instantly recognised it as Aquamarine's forcefield, though there was no clue as to where its source was. This must have been what Ruby meant when she said the others were trapped.

Timidly, he wandered along the curved path and up the wooden steps, the only part of his house that still looked normal. He wanted to be sure the other gems were still in there. Sapphire could be with them, and Ruby just hadn't noticed her yet. He could only hope.

When he reached the top, he could see that the field was translucent, making his house look more like an aquarium than the home he once knew. He tried staring through to find anyone, or even anything familiar, carefully pacing around the gigantic orb that contained everyone he loved within. He soon picked up the vague shapes of Pearl, Amethyst, and even Peridot, their figures frozen in time as if the battle never ended. He knew with dread that despite their circumstances, they had to still be conscious in there, just as he was when the other aquamarine trapped him. He didn't want to imagine what it was like in there, instead giving them a sympathetic look they may or may not have seen.

He peered in closer, trying to find any sign of Sapphire. It didn't help she was the same colour of the field that distorted everything inside it, but even with his best efforts, she could not be sighted. That didn't rule out the possibility of her being in there of course, meaning he needed to find a way in. The shield surrounding the house looked a little different to what he had seen before, meaning this had to be different, perhaps newer Homeworld technology, he deduced. Whatever it was, he needed to get in, and with nothing else at hand, he resorted to the direct approach.

Slowly inching his hand towards the blue surface, he tried moving in. Perhaps it would be like the prison ship he was on, and he could go right through. Unfortunately, it was a vain hope, as the moment his hand touched the energy encasing his home and friends, pure pain coursed through his body, like being electrocuted and burned at the same time. He stumbled away from the field, screaming as a jagged scar crawled across his hand, etching into his skin like nothing he had ever seen.

He licked desperately at it, wanting the pain to go away more than anything else. He was running down the stairs, almost falling over them as his hand slowly fought away the wretched scar with his healing. He didn't want to go near that thing again, but as the pain subsided and the tears stopped, he looked longingly again to his house. He couldn't fail them, not now.

They were all in there, waiting for rescue, most likely begging for salvation. It was almost enough to make him try again, but he knew hurting himself wouldn't get anyone anywhere. Ruby would know if she was in there or not, so there was no need for any of this. She still sat curled into her own anguish, meaning he'd have to continue waiting it out. Sighing, he settled down just beside the steps and blocked out all thought. Maybe that's what everyone else was doing.

This didn't even last a minute before Steven noticed something peering its head around the corner. He almost slapped himself for failing to remember he even existed, but first he did the only thing he could, which was jump up and run as fast as he could to hug his loyal pet, Lion, who softly growled in response. Just behind him could be seen a trail of paw prints that stopped at the ocean. They looked slightly faded and worn away, the tide currently in the middle of claiming one.

Wordlessly, he continued the embrace, softly weeping as he did so. The comfort of fur in his face and the low vibrating purr soothed any previous fears and almost put the weary boy to sleep. He mumbled something half-intelligible, but even he was too dazed to fully understand what he meant. Escape was in reach, but Lion soon moved away to his own accord, leaving Steven to flop onto the sand, only briefly flashing a look of annoyance before burying his head into the grains. The oppressive radiating sun only aided in pinning him to the ground, where all hope died. With all energy for contemplation sapped away, his mind sunk into the sea of darkness.

Lion could be heard walking away as quickly as he came, his footsteps turning fainter with each passing second until they disappeared. He was alone again, with only the sounds of waves and the occasional passing seagull to keep him company. What was Ruby doing? For a moment he was transfixed on this question, until a more important and relevant one realised itself. What was he doing? To anyone's standards, and especially his, he had given up too easily. With or without Ruby, there had to be something to do, some way to help the situation. As it turned out though, he wouldn't have to think of a reason to force himself onto his feet.

“AAAH!” A deafening scream sounded out, causing Steven to instantly raise his head from the sand. The sight that greeted his groggy eyes was that of a red blur heading towards the crystal temple and shouting at the top of its lungs the whole way there. In a few seconds, the deafening scream was drowned out by an infinitely more deafening explosion of energy as the blur collided with the forcefield. Had it not been protected from within, the blast would have torn Steven's house to shreds, much like it did his ears. He was sent reeling back from the blast as if a bomb had been dropped on him in a war-zone, and for a brief moment, his sight was filled with nothing but darkness. His senses returned just soon enough to see the body of Ruby slam into the sand beside him, creating a small imprint.

“Must... save...” She tried walking towards the temple again, soon collapsing again as her head span in circles. “Oh, who am I kidding? What do I do, Steven?” Before he knew it, she was clutching onto him tightly, tears welling in her eyes. Her words were shakily thrown out, trembling much like her body did as she tried not to burn Steven. With no other option, he held her, and soon her eyes softly shut while her head rested on his chest. “What do we do...?”

He sat there for a moment, trying to piece everything together. Now that his mind was active again, everything that happened – the past night and its aftermath – was swimming through his mind, and whether he wanted to or not, he was shaking too. Shaking subsided into confusion, and soon he found there was no answer. He knew even less than she did, yet she depended on him. There was only one thing he could say.

“We figure this out together.” He tilted Ruby's head so her gaze met his, trying to look as reassuring as he could. She seemed to cool down a little at this, but still a frown remained that told Steven everything he needed to know. He continued: “Tell me everything you saw that night, and I'll do my best to help you save them. To help you find her...” He trailed off, anticipating renewed anguish from the one he so desperately needed to comfort.

She stayed rooted in her position, slowly cooling within Steven's embrace. Her hands sunk into his flesh like a vice, causing him to grunt lightly as she silently threatened to never let go. Over time, she moved closer and buried her head in his chest, almost using him like a shield. Now there were no tears, no screams, and no words. After a deep breath, she raised her head to face Steven once more and drew out with the last of her spirit the words needed for progress.

“We figure this out together!”

She explained excitedly what Steven had missed, and in that moment, it was like something had clicked in his brain. Once he knew for sure Sapphire had been taken away, he looked to his hand quickly then resumed tentatively listening. She spilled the information out more eagerly now, to the point she was working like a tape on fast forward, and Steven struggled to take everything in. Before they both knew it, there was nothing more to say. She thought coming to terms with what happened would make her feel better, but doubt was setting in again like an old friend.

Absent-mindedly, her fingers trailed into the sand and created more worries and fears. It was as if her soul was slowly drifting back into the pit it came from, trying to escape the agonising silence she now shared with Steven. It almost astonished her how quick all hope could be lost again, yet here it was, flooding back into her system. This flood soon caused a spark, and the spark ignited a familiar fire within her. The only thing she knew to do, the only thing she believed she could do: She slammed her fist into the sand, destroying her drawings in the process. It wasn't enough. She pulled back for another try, then a hand gently rested on her shoulder.

“Please, calm down,” Steven said. She hadn't even noticed that he was sitting right next to her the whole time, so absorbed in her world she was that the real world had almost completely disappeared. She looked over to him, and he gave her this small smile that seemed to say he somehow knew everything would be fine. It was a smile she could trust; he was a person she could trust. Everything seemed so certain in that moment, but it just couldn't be. Her mind was playing tricks on her.

“What do we do now?” She asked, making an effort to stop staring at him. He came a little closer to her, to the point their legs were now touching in the sand. He appeared to be thinking this question over as if it was one of life's great mysteries, but soon enough, he answered.

“We go through Lion, get Lars to find Sapphire, we rescue her, then we save everyone else.”

“You think it'll work?” Ruby responded. The plan certainly seemed promising, but it was really only the starting concepts of a plan. Both of his hands were on her shoulders now, and he breathed in deeply, slightly shaking but otherwise shockingly confident.

“We'll make it work. We're getting them back, I promise.” And it was these words that broke the barrier in Ruby's mind. Everything he did and said made her just know everything would be alright. It was a feeling she had missed, and if she wanted their life back, as well as the lives of those trapped in the temple, she would need that feeling once more. The power of certainty.

“Steven...?” She almost whimpered the name out, struggling to even voice what she was thinking.

“Yeah?”

“I don't want to be alone...”

“Well you're not alone. I'm right here,” he said, not quite understanding. He could feel a strange glowing sensation between the two of them that slowly grew stronger.

“Do you feel it?” Ruby said. Steven nodded cautiously. He was starting to piece together what was happening. “I trust you, Steven,” she continued. “Just this once, please trust me.”

Ruby feared the worst, but instead he was smiling at her, and that's all she needed to be told. The glowing became a white hot flash as Steven's body started melting into hers. Ruby smiled as the feeling of completeness washed over her for the first time in what felt like a million years. She said one last thing to Steven before the transformation was complete:

“We figure this out together.”


	4. Rubellite

Rubellite opened their eyes, only to find themselves precariously placed high above the ground. It was enough to make them dizzy, causing a short stumble that revealed two gigantic, light red legs with feet the size of frying pans that were encased in a pair of darker red boots. A quick look at these legs promptly revealed their thick and squared nature. For a brief moment, they thought they had turned into a jasper, but the bright pink-ish reds of their body soon showed them otherwise.

They stumbled over to the gently crashing waves in hope of a good reflection. To their luck, the water was calm and reflective enough to only show a slightly distorted interpretation of their face. There were just two eyes, though with how they both aimlessly wandered in different directions to the other when idle, it was clear they each belonged to a different person. When focus was regained, they saw above those eyes a great round dome of black hair upon their head, a far cry from the square they were used to.

They looked further down past a non-existent neck to find their chest and abdomen, wide and smooth, like a well rounded cuboid. Ruby's gem was located there, a surprise considering how rare a gem moved during fusion. Regardless, it still made sense, as their chest was almost identical to hers. It was a similar shade of red, albeit a little lighter, and a pink shirt showing Steven's signature star symbol covered it, having grown to accommodate their increased size. Overall their torso was huge, and made them look much like a bodyguard. That was, if you ignored the arms.

They saw their pair of arms and pulled a face of pure perplexity. The skin was a more clear pink and appeared much thinner than the rest of their body. It was clear they resembled the arms of a human more than a gem, making it obvious who they came from. There was a definite elegance to their form, but they still had enough of a rounded nature to fit with the rest of their body. Overall, when they saw who they were now, they knew they were simply beautiful, even if their only clear vision was blurred and constantly crashing into the shore.

After a short while, their composure evened out and they stood with a confidence that surprised even them. One half felt reminded of the times they were Smoky Quartz. The other half knew exactly who this felt like, and they could not be more overjoyed.

Beach city was just a few small steps ahead, and it was waiting for them. It didn't matter what needed to be done or what had taken place just last night; there was a time and place to enjoy this experience, and it was right now. Rubellite smiled to themselves, and then took off into the city.

A rapid stomping edged closer towards the pier, clear and deep prints being left in the sand on the way. They were fast, definitely, but not much faster than Ruby already was. There was a low excited squeal that could be heard by a few pedestrians, and soon they had to jump out of the way as Rubellite leaped and bounded their way through the promenade. The planks creaked and almost broke under their weight, but still held on for dear life as the frenzied fusion dashed for the ring toss as if their life depended on it.

To them, there was a whole world of wonder awaiting them on this pier. Regardless of whether they had seen it all before thousands of times, suddenly everything was new again. This land of games was theirs for the taking, and all they needed was some good old fashioned money. They searched around their body for pockets, but to no avail, which meant by extension they were completely broke. “Oh well,” they thought, knowing they could make their own fun like it was nothing. There was something they suddenly had an urge to try, and knowing to just go with the flow, they didn't hesitate for a moment.

They knelt down slightly as if preparing for a race, then dashed to the end of the pier in mere seconds, not stopping for anything, not even the edge. They leapt right over and almost gracefully hung in the air, even if for just a split second. Time paused on this moment and they felt a rush course through them. Something between adrenaline and pure childish glee was taking hold of their mind as they took in the freedom the world suddenly gave them. They could do absolutely anything they wanted, and so they chose to take the plunge. Time unwound again, gravity took hold, and their colossal body made contact with the water below.

The splash managed to reach back onto the pier again, the sheer size of it soaking many onlookers alike. For Rubellite, what was intended to be a simple re-enactment of another fusion's test run ended up not quite going to plan. Underestimating the depth of the water, they instantly crashed into the sea bed, creating a dent in the sand as they did so. There was no pain, but the look on their face as they rose out of the water again showed a clear frown. Once they reached land, however, the frown was instantly replaced by a huge grin as they spotted the car wash in the distance. If money was a problem, Greg was most definitely the answer.

“What in the world?” Greg yelled a little louder than intended, startled as he turned around to find a new, yet familiar face towering over him, their shadow alerting him to their presence.

To say the least, Greg was confused. Rubellite's lack of any explanation as they demanded money from him didn't help matters. They stood there with their hand out and an expectant look plastered on their face, oblivious to his shock.

“Are you a... friend of the crystal gems? He asked, unsure what to do. They giggled in response, which soon turned into almost deafening laughter, causing Greg to back away and cover his ears. His years of playing loud rock music could have never prepared him for this. Eventually, their laughing slowed to a halt, leaving him leaning on a car for support, almost looking exhausted and most definitely shaken.

“I am a crystal gem!” They proudly proclaimed, standing tall in admiration of themselves as they did so. Their voice was loud and booming, sounding like they had a megaphone for a mouth, yet its pitch was that of a young child on a sugar rush. “I'm the only crystal gem...” They continued, this time a lot quieter. It was only in that moment they finally remembered everything that brought them here. Everything was clear to them again, a fact that was definitely not mutual since Greg only looked more confused than ever. He raised his hand to speak, as if in a lesson at school, but Rubellite was no teacher. They were breathing heavily now, and he could feel it on his whole body like hot steam. It almost looked like they were about to split in half, but soon composure returned as if nothing was ever wrong.

“I'll tell you what happened,” they said, sounding a lot more serious this time. And so Greg sat, confusion turning to awe, horror, and finally surprise as Rubellite described the events of the last night and current morning. Their voice remained at the same consistent tone, almost robotic in nature until their ordeal of explaining came to an end, at which point a bright smile returned to their face and they resumed the gesture they took up when first confronting their half-father. Money was on the mind again.

Greg needed a moment to process everything he had been told. He couldn't help but wonder why, if the gems really were in such jeopardy, Rubellite wanted money of all things. It took a good reminder that this was a world he still didn't understand, the world of gems, to convince him that they must know what they were doing. Still reluctantly, he took out a small wad of 20 dollar bills and began handing it over to Rubellite, who quickly snatched it out of his hand. After initially recoiling from the action, he made his best attempt to reassert some kind of authoritative position over the fusion towering above him.

“Now don't take too much money from me. I want it to at least last a little while,” he said, to which Rubellite simply nodded and said, “Alright!”, before running off again quicker than he could blink. Once he saw some of the money flying out of their hand, he decided it would be best to keep a long-distance eye on them. Plus, he wanted to see what this money was so desperately needed for.

Off Rubellite went, dodging cars and pedestrians on the street like it was a game. They were no doubt breaking the speed limit of Beach City, but their endeavours were above the law. Soon enough, they arrived at the only place worth thinking of in this moment: Funland Arcade.

After a short squeeze through the entrance, they were inside the bustling wonderland of electronic entertainment. Quarters clunked into machines, retro beeps and boops filled the atmosphere, and complaints of rigged claw machines could be faintly heard. It was bright, it was loud, it was completely devoid of any meaning. Rubellite wanted in.

Before they even read what it was called, they stuffed a note into a random machine, almost crumpling it up too much in the slot for it to be accepted, and then they played. They played for quite a while, in fact, exhausting twenty dollars of playtime as if it were nothing, all while managing to beat a grand total of four levels. With their position hunched over the proportionally tiny console, their hands so large they kept pressing multiple buttons at once, it was a miracle they even got that far. Out of curiosity, they decided to buy some refreshments to fill in the short spaces their mind wasn't occupied with gaming. Twenty dollars later and they were furiously gulping on a large soda, desperately trying to beat this boss that they swore kept changing its fight pattern.

Greg had just come across their whereabouts at this time, panting hard at the entrance and close to passing out. He had just searched the majority of the town for the wayward fusion, having lost track of them the moment they ditched him. Then he caught sight of them bashing their hands on an arcade machine in a futile attempt to play, an empty soda cup hanging in their mouth by the straw with a large pile of many other soda cups pooling around their feet. To say the least, he was concerned.

A man in the arcade looked back and forth between Greg and the person currently destroying an arcade machine, soon growing suspicious. Greg simply shrugged and said, “Kids, am I right?”, following up with an awkward laugh that seemed to make the man lose interest. Interest only seemed to grow with the rest of the arcade, however, as a crowd began forming around Rubellite.

They had just switched games, moving to a cabinet for a notoriously hard space shooter, but the attention was truly drawn to them when they selected the “extreme” difficulty, treating it as if choosing between two identical chocolate bars at a candy store. Considering their track record with the last game, the small uproar should have been cut short within seconds, but something seemed to click in their gems. They had lasted a minute without losing any lives, advancing to level 9 in the process. This was already impressive, but what blew the crowd's mind more were the blurred reflexes of their hands, almost looking like they were about to break the joystick right off the console.

Another minute had passed and the crowd doubled in size. Greg tried to get through to reach them, but to no avail. A few people recorded the event on their phones, trying their hardest to get a good view in the sea of people. At this point, they had only lost two lives, giving them one more chance before they had to pay. Looking at their hands, one would think light speed had been broken, but what impressed the mob more was the score they were achieving. They were imminently approaching the world record, something which had required hundreds of dollars of extra lives, yet here Rubellite was matching the same feat on a quarter.

In the brief amount of time the game had taken place, news was already spreading across social media. A couple people were even streaming the spectacle straight from their phones, but Rubellite was on top form and wouldn't let anything get in the way of ultimate victory. Before anyone knew it, the record was breached, and still they kept playing as if their life depended on it. The crowd was growing wilder, louder with each passing second, soon becoming a frenzied mosh pit that was just too much for Greg to handle.

In truth, Rubellite could have kept their playing up for all eternity. They definitely wanted to, but something had to break sooner or later, and if it wasn't them...

SNAP

The joystick was wrenched from the machine, resulting in an instant game over. Their inhuman score was displayed for all to see, an accomplishment that was soon to be trending all over the internet. The arcade was almost full to bursting with people wanting to have a look, even a tiny glimpse at the result of the last few minutes of madness that had just occurred. Despite all this, Rubellite could only focus on the game they just broke, worry flowing through their form. This worry increased ten-fold when they saw Mr Smiley swiftly approaching their position, eyes fixed on the broken joystick in their hand. He was not smiling.

They began cowering, curling up into a protective ball against his inevitable wrath. He was soon to be in their face, with Greg following up not far behind. He opened his mouth, about to raise his voice, but something ground him to a halt. Looking around, he saw that in the matter of mere minutes, the arcade had gone from having decent business to being full to bursting. After the stunt they had pulled, the people watching had excitedly rushed out to play the machines themselves. Dollar signs were in his eyes, and, suddenly, his demeanour had turned to a much calmer stride that tried to inch through his increased business. They slowly sprung out of their ball to find no raised voices in their ear, or at least none portraying a swift ban. Instead, they found the man smiling once more, almost to the point of breaking into laughter.

“I swear, it hasn't been this busy here since we opened!” He spoke excitedly. Rubellite tilted their head a little, not quite catching on. Despite the lack of response, he continued. “In any other circumstance, I'd have you kicked out for breaking my property, but I think this activity should more than cover the damages. You're off the hook, uhh, kid...?” He looked at them a little longer, still awkwardly smiling, before briskly shuffling off to try and manage the copious crowd occupying his establishment. Rubellite stood there, dumbfounded, then gave a cheer of victory, which their collection of fans eagerly joined in with.

Greg was still preoccupied with wading through the masses, which was more time consuming than driving his van through the rush-hour traffic. At one point a man had accidentally spilled popcorn all over him, a few sticky pieces clinging to his shirt for safety from the filthy floor below. There was a ringing in his ears from the constant barrage of shouting. Despite all his years of playing music in front of crowds, he couldn't help but be surprised at the noise levels. That, and Rubellite's shouting from earlier didn't help.

By the time the commotion had died down enough for him to reach the mischievous fusion, he was exhausted, barely able to stand, but thankfully he was face to face with them now. In their moment of celebration, they finally noticed him in the corner of their eye, panting, almost fainting. They stopped instantly, anticipating one of either two things: A good talking to, or an imminent hospital visit. What they got was neither.

“What... was that?” He said between breaths. Rubellite was instantly relieved. His tone wasn't angry in the slightest. There was certainly shock mixed in there, but he was more exhausted and at a loss for words for what he just witnessed. However, he did look like he was about to collapse, and they couldn't let that happen. They acted as a support for his overwhelmed body, then smiled broadly.

“Just, you know, felt like playing a game,” they said, shrugging. Greg didn't even bother responding, instead shaking his head and letting out a small laugh. “Oh, and you can have your money back. I don't need it anymore,” they continued, handing Greg back his money. He immediately began stammering, about to ask some justified follow up questions, but before he could even get a chance to structure any words, they were long gone. In one brief moment, he was left alone in an arcade way busier than it was built to handle, holding onto money that was clearly out of his mind at the moment. After that adventure, he resolved in his mind that this was enough insanity for one day.

The fusion stared out to the beach again: The perfect place to unwind, relax, and let their mind drift. But they'd have none of that. Without a second of hesitation, they were off again like a rocket, careening down the boardwalk without a care in the world. There wasn't even time to think of what they'd do next.

The lighthouse seemed like a good place, so they went there. Then they dashed up to the top, barely able to fit through the narrow staircase. It was a nice view from there, but nothing compared to the starry night with its glitter coating the sky. Despite all their power, there were still unfortunate limits to what they could achieve. For example, they couldn't turn the Earth around in an instant to reject the sun's warm offering and see the beautiful expanse up above for what it was.

Sulking slightly at that thought, they soon decided they had spent enough time up there. Turning around to leave was a big mistake, it seemed, as the moment their body was facing the way down again, they lost balance and fell all the way from the top of the tower and into the sand, getting half buried in the process. After sitting for a while, they reflected on just how fun that experience was, even if it did end up being slightly painful this time.

That left the question of what came next. They couldn't end their party this soon. The energy within them was screaming to keep going, maybe even for all eternity. What was life without fun anyway? To live as a free spirit was the dream, and they already had it. They could do anything they wanted, so why did they feel so bad? So guilty, even. It felt as if they were forgetting something...

They pulled themselves out the sand and began walking, this time much slower. The sour thoughts in their mind didn't fade. In fact, they did the complete opposite, and built up further with each step they took. It was unclear why, but now the world had deemed their actions undeserved and unjustified. It was only fun! How could it be wrong? They almost wanted to yell in outrage, but the guilt pinned them down, close to subduing them into separation. This was no life for Rubellite. Answers had to be found, so they headed for the only place they could think of looking.

They headed for home.

It was their only action so far that hadn't been aimless. There was a purpose here, issues that needed to be resolved immediately. It was instinct shouting out to go to the temple. Apparently there was something extremely obvious they were missing there, but other parts of their mind fought with all their might to prevent them from even thinking about their home. Every time they tried, they were blocked out by some kind of invisible mental barrier.

The journey, as short as it was, turned out mind-numbing. Nothing but the dull repetition of one foot moving in front of the other, back and forth in an endless cycle, was in their mind. The closer they got to the temple, the more it was the only thing they could focus on. Soon, their feet and the shifting sand beneath them were all they were staring at. It hadn't even occurred to them that their gaze had shifted so drastically, but once they noticed, their head was locked in place. Like some cruel prank, they couldn't even look up. What was this? Could it be that they were hiding?

Straining, they brought their head up, inch by inch, micrometre by micrometre. Whatever it was, they could at least look at it. They were the fearless Rubellite! If anything even dared to come against them, they wouldn't struggle in the slightest to-

“No!” They screamed it out, having seen what could not be unseen, the realisation flooding back all too fast as it hit them square on. Now their attention was fixed on the house, they could finally see everything their mind had carelessly blocked out. The forcefield around what was once their home burned into their eyes, and then they were on the ground. The weight of guilt upon them increased ten-fold, strong enough to begin splitting them up. How had they remained oblivious all this time?

The fusion could not remain like this, knowing they had betrayed those so dear for their own self-indulgence. They writhed on the ground as a bright sheen of white, barely hanging by a thread from dying out. Dying out, just like she had...

As usual for them, it was sudden, but the urge to fight back came stronger than ever. Something screamed inside, a raging flame that demanded they stay together or face deep misery like none other. Rubellite suddenly felt their guilt replaced by unstoppable fear that brought forth determination, and soon they were standing again, straining with all their might until they were certain they had been put back together. Then they stared, long and hard at what had torn them apart. Everything it could offer was being taken in, analysed, and contemplated to death for the sole purpose of making sure they would never fall victim to its hidden horrors again.

Everything they had avoided, everything they had willingly abandoned was in front of them. Was it cowardice? Fear? It did not matter now. A blank stare into their shattered life brought no joy, but it did allow them to reflect for the first time since they came to be. They could now think.

The gems that attacked them served Homeworld, there was no doubt about it. A traitorous aquamarine would never last long under the supervision of the diamonds, so she was yet another loyal servant they had to fight. The question arose though, of why Homeworld only came to kidnap Sapphire. All of them were renegades of the highest order, yet they had simply been trapped or even ignored entirely. Rubellite was going to be sure Homeworld regretted that, but that business would be for later.

Thinking deeper, they came to the conclusion that they had to be using Sapphire for something, but for what exactly they had no idea. Their fists began to clench now, but the endless stare continued, their face still showing no obvious emotion. How long had they been doing this? They could have sworn the sun was starting to get lower...

It seemed thinking about Sapphire was doing no more good, as they felt their form begin to break apart again. With a sigh, they directed their attention to the other gems, their dearest friends all encased within an impenetrable bubble and preserved so they still lived within the horrors of the previous night. It could very well be how they remained for all eternity, considering Aquamarine seemed to keep this thing active without a second thought.

If there was a way they could get in there and rescue someone, anyone, it would mean the world, but they had already tried getting in separated. It wasn't a question of strength, and there was no clear strategy for infiltration. The spherical shape covered all angles. In these trying times, It felt so much more daunting with only them, one third of the Crystal Gems. From the slight distance, they could make out their beloved companions, so close yet so far from reach. It seemed enhanced vision was a new power they gained, not that it meant much to them right now. They focussed harder.

Pearl was in a fighting stance, her spear poised and ready to attack. There was nothing but grit and determination plastered on her face, and from the angle, she seemed to be aiming to lunge straight at the aquamarine that was once there. Amethyst was beaten quite badly from the ruby attack, seemingly one step away from being poofed. Still, she was in the middle of running after the fleeing faction, her entire focus pinpointed on them. Peridot was terrified. It could clearly be seen on her face, but she wasn't hiding like she was earlier. Now she was standing, but clearly unsure of what she could possibly do at this point. The whole situation was a tragic portrait, only made worse by the fact they were all conscious inside there the entire time. Rubellite knew now, they were going to fight for them.

But how? There was no way to know where Aquamarine was, no way to even guess. All she mentioned was going “back to base”. For all they knew, that could be the other side of the galaxy. It was just so frustrating. For all their powers, what could they do? There was no future vision, no wings that could take them into space, nothing useful for helping their situation, that was for sure. They almost wished they had stayed ignorant of this burden, but they knew they'd face it sooner or later. It felt completely hopeless...

This, of course, was when Lion made his appearance again. A soft growl snapped them out of their trance, at which point their face lit up into life a little. There was something they could do after all. It was at this point they expected a plan to quickly form in their mind, the different possibilities moulding into one certain event. However, in its absence, they made do with knowing Lion would be useful, somehow.

Their rediscovery brought forth a burst of motivation for Rubellite. Their mind was racing, flicking through every possible action they could take. Then it hit them. Sleep was certain to bring dreams, and if Steven's powers still resonated in this form...

They got to it right away. Despite what they expected with their energised nature, they fell asleep almost instantly in the sweltering heat of broad daylight. Certainly an achievement, but determination would be the sole force allowing them to overcome any petty challenge standing in their way. Now they were unconscious, the dream that was forming seemed surprisingly boring. It was hard to really be perceptive of anything meaningful when everything was nothing, mixed with a slightly annoying haze. They needed focus.

The criteria for their concentration was simple: Something blue. They kept that in mind, and soon the familiar tug of the dreamscape pulled them into another realm of thought. Even from a distance though, they could tell it was wrong. The figure was blue, sure, but they were tall and slender, with an empty look in their eyes that didn't seem like Sapphire at all. They cut off their pursuit, leaving them stranded again in the middle of imaginary nowhere.

After focussing hard once more, they yielded a much more promising result. Almost instantly, their integrated form in the mind was thrown through the void at inconceivable speeds. A few seconds later, and they were looking through the eyes of Sapphire. An intensely powerful force had propelled them where they wanted to be before they could even process it, and now, they were observing a new world through her eyes. Anything more than this seemed futile to achieve, so they remained in this state for the time being, letting the scene unfold.

“Please, my clarity, do not concern yourself with this planet. We will have you home shortly, at which point I am sure you will appreciate the life you have missed out on for so many years much more.”

Sapphire could not be more disgusted, more frustrated with the oblivious aquamarine droning on at her, but her attention had suddenly been shifted by a strange sensation within her very gem. It was creepy, almost like another person was inside her, but at least it was only mildly distracting. She'd get to the bottom of it once this interrogation business had been dealt with.

Unfortunately, Aquamarine had instantly noticed something amiss the moment Sapphire had directed her attention to what appeared to be her hand. Once her suspicion had been raised, there was no avoiding the conflict that would follow. Coyly, she moved in closer to the royal gem sitting stationary in front of her.

“Is there something... on your mind?” She said. The words were almost a whisper and sent shivers through Sapphire's body. It took every ounce of her willpower to remain calm and respond formally, which only became harder as the feeling in her gem became even stronger.

“No, I was just considering what you said. Your proposal about being returned to my old life,” Sapphire said, trying her best to keep her confidence. She just hoped the gem hovering in front of her, semi-smug expression plastered on her face, would buy it. She knew if she just played along with this madness for long enough, she could break out and escape from her fate on Homeworld. After that, there was no knowing what she'd do next, but she had to think in baby steps.

“You'd like to hear more about that?” She asked. “I'll happily tell you your future then! I suppose it's the least I can do seeing as you've lost that ability yourself.” She continued to divulge the details of her planned life on Homeworld, but she lost focus on her the moment she began speaking. The distraction had worked, and that's all she cared about when it came to the aquamarine. Now it was over, the focus could shift.

Sapphire sighed. It was true, she still couldn't look into the future even slightly, despite now being fully reformed. That, however, was no defect. They had ripped that ability away from her several minutes into their broadcast, once she had come around and wasn't so disoriented. She hadn't even noticed at first, but an amethyst had attached a strange ring-shaped device to her wrist, suddenly draining all her powers in an instant. With no freezing or future vision, there was no use fighting; she'd have to wait this monotonous interrogation out.

But then there was this burning pain in her gem only complicating matters further. This sensation... it was something she had never experienced before. Despite the pain it brought, it was also oddly comforting. Part of it reminded her of the former fusion she used to be, which now seemed like a distant memory. Memory, itself, was something she was not so used to occupying her thoughts with. Sure, she had remembered before, but now it seemed it was all she could do. She remembered what Ruby would have wanted: To be brave in the face of danger, even when facing it alone. Wherever Ruby was at the moment, whatever situation she was in, she wished the same for her.

While Sapphire may not have been listening to the aquamarine's words, Rubellite was paying close attention to every syllable uttered from her lips. Any information, as arrogantly as it came, would be vital at this point. It was a strange, cramped feeling to be within someone's gem, like being stuffed into a box a third of their size. There was also a strong force trying to expel them, meaning they had to fight every single second just to keep the chance of gaining this information. Their energy was limited, and it was only a matter of time before they would be kicked out.

They remembered controlling someone with this power before, being able to take over their entire body and act as them. In this case though, even if they wanted to possess Sapphire, it was not possible in the slightest. They already had to exert so much energy just staying within her consciousness, and when they dared to go further, there was an impassable mental barrier clearly trying its best to keep them away. Rubellite could tell this was exhausting the poor gem more by the second, so they resolved to leave her alone as soon as possible. Returning to her like this, they concluded, was cruel, and would only further risk giving everything away. They just needed a little more information...

“You see, my clarity, I'd happily let you live this life right away, but I'm afraid there is some unfinished business here on Earth we must clear up. The diamonds themselves have ordered me to do this, so it is of utmost importance we gather this information before doing anything else.” The topic had shifted now, as it seemed Aquamarine wanted to get back on track. Rubellite chose to hang onto these words carefully, and it appeared that Sapphire was doing the same.

“I've been informed that you had involvement with the Crystal Gems, the faction that shattered one of our leaders, Pink Diamond. Now don't worry, I won't judge you on any of that. I imagine a gem of your status was unwillingly forced into such matters as it is, and regardless, we need you desperately, beyond whatever your past may entail. This is simply a case of priorities, and right now, the Diamond Authority requests your service to impart any necessary information on the Crystal Gems. Will you aid us, my clarity?”

Rubellite, through Sapphire's vision, saw the world move up and down briefly, signifying their choice. There was no knowing where this would lead, but they couldn't help but have an idea within them that they desperately didn't want to be true. Aquamarine promptly began another monologue, her voice sparking nothing but irritation in their mind.

“Thank you for staying loyal to your Homeworld. I assume the pathetic resistance against our rescue operation was the Crystal Gems themselves. A deformed amethyst, a pearl, and a ruby that forced you into a disgraceful fusion. At least, that is what I remember off the top of my head. There may be more, and that is why we need you. Please, tell us where we may find these traitors of the authority. Once we have the necessary information, we shall track them down... and shatter every last renegade gem on the spot.” Her face lit up once she finished, with a brief laugh following.

Sapphire shouted something in protest, her act finally being broken by the aquamarine's words. That's as far as Rubellite got, though. Knowing what would come if Sapphire shared their location, they ended up bailing out of her in an instant, the fear overtaking them. Before they knew it, Sapphire's vision was too distant to make out, then just a few seconds later, they jolted awake, bolting upright as they did so.

Astonishingly, they had still kept their form as Rubellite this whole time, though at this point it felt like they would fall apart at any moment. Despite how grim their situation appeared, they had succeeded in one thing: They had all the information they needed. Sapphire was being held somewhere by Homeworld forces to be interrogated. They wanted to know the location of every Crystal Gem so they could be wiped out for good. Now they had that knowledge, they would make sure that plan would never become a reality.

Sapphire was currently in a hysterical rage she never knew she was capable of. It was clear Aquamarine didn't expect it either, as she scrambled to restrain the frenzied gem, eventually fastening her to her seat with no escape. Now, Sapphire was really trapped, and she somewhat regretted her actions after that fact. Despite this, she could not stand for what was planned. If the Crystal Gems were still alive, she had to protect them at all costs. With dread hanging in her gem, she made the decision to deprive them of any information. Playing along with their sick will was no longer an option, and it seemed things would have to be done the hard way. At least that previous feeling in her gem had disappeared...

Rubellite had spent a few more minutes pacing around the beach and thinking. There were many variables to consider: The giant invincible sphere encasing their home, the nearby lion that gave them access to Lars, and Homeworld's intentions. They still had no idea of Sapphire's actual location, which limited their possibilities for a plan, but that didn't stop them from trying. There was definitely no way they could give up now, not after coming this far.

Then it hit them. Oh, it was like a stroke of genius. All the pieces were coming together like the world's easiest jigsaw puzzle. It was a moment that finally filled them with hope again. Hope that they'd find Sapphire, that they'd free the Crystal Gems again, and that they'd crush Homeworld's forces and send them back humiliated. They may have been distracted earlier with silly games, but now they were on track and realising their true potential. They giggled to themselves again once everything came together, feeling so sure and absolute. Rubellite had a plan!


End file.
